Loan Charge Pledge - General Election 2024

The next Government must do what the current one has failed to do – and resolve the whole Loan Charge Scandal, before more lives are lost. There have already been 10 confirmed suicides and 13 attempted suicides due to this unfair retrospective legislation, that targets ordinary people and ignores super rich directors and advisers, who mis-sold schemes.

We are calling on all candidates in the General Election – and all potential future MPs – to back the calls to finally resolve the scandal – and find a resolution to the whole mess.

With 40,000 cases still unresolved – and many people on the brink, facing ruin and breakdown – this will be a big issue in the next Parliament and one that MPs will not be able to ignore.

Election Candidates – show your support

If you are standing for Parliament in this General Election, we are asking you to commit to three very simple things:

1. A new genuinely independent review not influenced by the Government or HMRC. The previous Treasury-commissioned review was not independent and came to a flawed conclusion. There have been several suicides since then.
2. A fair resolution for all those impacted, working with sector professionals, to bring an end to the whole scandal before more lives are ruined.
3. A review of the rules around workers and the enshrining in law of the basic principle that anyone classified as a worker (as opposed to being self-employed) must receive full employment rights (stopping zero rights employment). This would help prevent another Loan Charge Scandal from happening again.

These things are not even controversial – the next Government will inherit this disastrous mess from the current one and will need to seek a resolution. HMRC cannot cope with the volume of cases and should instead be going after Covid fraudsters.

Please sign the #LoanChargePledge – and show you are on the side of the tens of thousands of people and families who face ruin simply for following professional advice.

Back the #LoanChargePledge – help resolve the #LoanChargeScandal – once and for all.

Ask Your candidates – and your next MP – to commit to resolve the Loan Charge Scandal

Ask YOUR election candidates to commit to resolve the Loan Charge Scandal.

You can find out who is standing in your constituency here.

You can contact your local candidates by:

1. Email
2. Social media

Do bear in mind that this election is being fought on new boundaries – and most constituencies have changed, so you may or may not be in the same one as before. Do please check who your candidates are – and ensure you email them (and if they are on social media, do post at them there too).

This is the graphic for social media – help get the message out about the #LoanChargePledge and the #LoanChargeScandal.

Contact your candidates today – and urge them to help resolve the Loan Charge Scandal – and save lives.

Please do share with us responses from candidates – so we know who has said they will back the Loan Charge pledge – and who has refused to help resolve this injustice. Email any responses to [email protected]

You may also be able to attend local hustings and ask them in person – if you are doing so, please contact [email protected] for advice.

What is the Loan Charge ?

The 2019 Loan Charge was introduced by the Finance (No. 2) Act 2017.  It is a tax charge on “employment related taxable loans made by third parties on or after 6 April 1999 brought within Part 7A ITEPA 2003 if they remain outstanding on 5 April 2019” (ref HMRC guidance).

Part 7A was introduced with the Finance Act of 2011 (December 2010) and to apply this to loans going back to December 2010 (previously 1999) is, by even the most layman terms, retrospective taxation. Nonetheless the Government then claimed that these arrangements ‘did not work’. Yes they were within the law, they say, but not in a way that was in tune with ‘what Parliament intended’. 

What does the Loan Charge Action Group Do?

We make a difference.  The Loan Charge initially taxed all amounts received as far back as 1999, however thanks to tireless campaigning by members of the Loan Charge Action Group, we forced a review which succeeded in securing significant changes to the law, cutting the Loan Charge in half from 1999 to December 2010 and for 2010-2016 for people who have fully disclosed loan use. 

Our collective voice has enabled so many changes since the initial tabling of EDM1239 in May 2018, and seen us obtain amazing cross party support which resulted in the establishment of the Loan Charge APPG in January 2019 (now the Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness APPG).

As a community LCAG have worked together and have seen HMRC properly challenged in a way no other organisations has done.  Whilst this draconian, punitive and wholly unfair legislation continues to adversely affect thousands of people, and whilst people continue to be mis-sold into loan and similar disguised remuneration schemes we recognise that there is still much more to do.  

We will therefore continue our campaign activity until we get a full, final and fair resolution to the Loan Charge and all related unfair demands.  This includes:

• Gathering evidence from people who are impacted by the legislation, and also Freedom of Information requests, we are exposing the reality of HMRC’s behaviour and conduct together with the unreasonable way they are treating people including HMRC activity relating to payment of APNs issued and other loan scheme related HMRC action. 
• Exposing instances where people who used schemes pre-December 2010 (or between 2010-2016 and were fully disclosed) are facing HMRC investigation and demands for loan scheme related issues. 
• Exposing divergence in HMRC treatment of taxpayers in similar circumstances.
• Campaigning for all who have found themselves mis-sold into loan and similar disguised remuneration schemes.
• Campaigning for fairness for contractors and freelancers and a better future for this way of work,   

If you are impacted in any way, or simply want to find out more about the Loan Charge, you please get in touch at [email protected]   A single action can make all the difference.

Please watch the below video for insights into what the 2019 Loan Charge is, and how it applies to you.  Please note that this video was created prior to the Morse Review which moved the retrospective impact of the Loan Charge from 1999 to December 2010.